UNASKED FOR MAGNUS THEORY #3: ALBRECHT VON CLOSEN’S WIFE WAS REPLACED

Welcome to Invasion of the Bodysnatchers! 1815 edition.

We’re all familiar with Albrecht Von Closen. Friend of Jonah Magnus. Ancestor to Gerry and Joan Crawford Keay. Winner of the decade’s most bone-chilling autopsy results. 

But how much thought have you given to his wife? 

EXHIBIT A: In MAG 33 kayaking enthusiast Timothy Stoker points out that Jon mistakingly calls Albrecht’s wife by two separate names in the recording of Albrecht’s harrowing encounter in the Schwarzwald (MAG 23): Carla and Clara. Now, it could be an honest mistake, but in examining the statement itself one notices something interesting. 

EXHIBIT B: The name Clara appears five times in the document. Carla appears thrice. With one exception Clara is used exclusively at the beginning of Albrecht’s tale (before he enters the tomb), and Carla almost exclusively after.

EXHIBIT C: Albrecht mentions that he and his wife have not been able to conceive a child. It’s the reason they’re so close with their nephew who lives in the eponymous forest. 

EXHIBIT D: The next time we see Albrecht in MAG 127, his wife Carla has passed. The doctor attending him, Dr. Jonathan Fanshawe, also happens to mention that Albrecht’s sons are away at boarding school when he makes his visit. I repeat: Albrecht’s sons. Sons we were led to believe Albrecht and Clara weren’t capable of having. 

CONCLUSION: We see evidence throughout the show that Gerard Keay was touched by The Eye long before his interactions with Gertrude and The Institute. Is it possible that he was marked before birth? Descended from a line of not-quite-people affiliated with The Ceaseless Watcher? The answer is unknown, but it’s a fun train of thought to follow. 

[Archivist’s note: it is unclear whether Carla would be a similar creature to the Not-Them seen in MAG 3, etc. or something else entirely]